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Monday, September 22, 2014

Samsung's Answer to the iPhone 6 Debuts in the U.S. This Week

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which is the company's answer to the iPhone in terms of both looks and specs, is officially launching in the United States later this month, exclusively at AT&T.

First announced in August, the metal-framed phone (a departure from Samsung's plastic offerings)

will be available online and from AT&T retailers beginning on Sept. 26, starting at about $200 with a two-year contract, the company said on Monday.

The svelte Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7-inch HD display, which is the same size as the iPhone 6. The screen is on the smaller side compared to the other Samsung option — the Galaxy S5 clocks in at 5.1 inches — and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. It runs on KitKat, the latest Android mobile operating system.

Similar to the Samsung Galaxy S5, the device lets you combine Wi-Fi and LTE connections to transfer data quickly, as well as a power-saving mode, which turns off non-essential apps and switches the screen to black and white. It also comes with a fingerprint sensor built into the home button.

With a 10% charge, the phone can stay alive up to a full daywhile still receiving calls and texts, Samsung says. The Alpha also holds 32GB of storage and a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, plus a 12-megapixel rear camera.